The first stage of the Polar Bear Census research expedition ended on Wrangel Island. For the first time in harsh Arctic conditions, a new method of monitoring polar bears was used - with the help of Orlan drones, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources reports on its website.
Aerial monitoring was carried out in the first half of September, when the width of the ice strip near the coast of the island is minimal, and the entire group of polar bears is concentrated on the island.
“At this time, animals are clearly visible on the so far dark surface of the earth and from a height of 200-300 meters, on which UAVs operate, it is easy to detect animals using high-resolution photo and video cameras,” the ministry noted.
The total flight time of the drones was over 103 hours, the total length of the route was 8,317 kilometers, and almost 23,000 photographs were taken.
“The method of monitoring polar bears using the Orlan UAV is planned to be widely introduced in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation to account for the number of other polar bear populations,” said Olga Krever, head of the expedition, deputy director of the Roszapovedtsentr, quoted by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources.
In addition to counting the number of polar bears on Wrangel Island, their distribution on the island was specified, and the state of the rare predator and its habitats were assessed. The objects of research were also the food objects of the polar bear - walruses, whales, seals, bearded seals, as well as musk oxen, near-water birds. Information was collected on cases of death of animals carried or fallen on the coast of Wrangel Island, on cases of feeding polar bears with dead animals on the island.
At the same time, large-scale accounting work was carried out on the ground. Several members of the expedition on an all-terrain vehicle surveyed the territory of the island, took photographs and videos of polar bears and other animals, recorded the places of meetings and accumulations of animals, places of finds of dead animals, took samples of water, snow and soil for further research on the pollution of the habitat of polar bears. Subsequently, this will make it possible to assess the state of the habitats of polar bears on Wrangel Island, the Ministry of Natural Resources noted.
Another group of researchers, including specialists from the Wrangel Island Nature Reserve, conducted a ground-based visual count along a long-term circular route, on which all polar bears encountered were recorded, their number and distribution on the island were estimated.
Subsequently, the data from aerial surveys and ground surveys of polar bears are planned to be compared and analyzed.
“Based on the archive of collected materials, scientists will have to calculate the number of polar bears on Wrangel Island by extrapolating the data obtained using the method of N.G. Chelintseva," the message says.
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